Kodak Reviews

I've had this camera for about a year and a half. After less than a year, I began to have problems. First of all, it would overwind the film to where the film would read "developed" when it had just come out of the camera. This created problems for the developing center because they thought I had already developed the film. So, I just lived with this problem for a while since I was still able to develop the film.

However, then the camera started having problems taking pictures. I would press the shoot button many times without it taking the photo. Needless to say, I missed tons of great photo ops.

The biggest problem came a few weeks ago, when I rewound the film and saw that it came out saying "new roll". I figured the camera had over-overwound and tried to develop it anyways. However, the entire roll came out blank. I was so upset!

Then, I tried to send it to the camera repair company that the Kodak website recommends. However, they sent it back to me saying that there was nothing wrong. HA! I am still having the same problems with the camera and am now definitely going to get a new one--NOT a Kodak.

In addition, a big problem for me was that the window on the camera where you look into is TINY. It's really hard to even see your target. This is especially a problem at night!

This camera is the best you can get, for the money. It's so easy to store, the film loading is great, and the availability is wonderful. I love to take pictures, and this was a great gift for me. I have heard people say the developing is very expensive, but there are ways to get a discount. Join a club at a 1-hour photo shop, (if available) and you should have no problems. My only reason for buying another camera is the fact that this one has no zoom feature. I am always in a situation where a closer picture would be so much better than a reagular one. For all you people out there who are looking for a great advantix zoom camera, try the F600 or T700. They are great zoom cameras. But if you are looking for a convenient, lightweight camera that produces fabulous pictures, then I strongly recommend the T550. I might be buying another camera, but I will still use my T550 the most.

I bought one of these little APS cameras on a whim right after Christmas about 2 years ago when the price was reduced ... I was having lots of trouble with my fancy and expensive Nikon Nuvis 120i APS so I needed another camera for all the APS film that I had. The ... Nikon took terrible pictures and I figured this camera had to do a little bit better. Boy, was I wrong! It takes great pictures! I carried it all over Europe last summer in my pants pocket while I watched other photographers lugging around their thousand dollar SLR's. No one ever knew I had a camera 'till I pulled it out, flipped up the lens cover (which doubles as a flash) and started snapping away. About the only feature it doesn't have is a zoom lens (which I would rarely use anyway).
Go to your favorite camera store a take a look at this little gem and play around with it.
Good Points: Tiny,like a pack of cigarettes, lightweight, flip up flash, sharp lens, fully automatic, self timer, drop in film loading, reduced red eye from the flip up flash. A LOT of camera for the money. Kodak did their homework on this one!
Bad Points: APS film (more expensive), no zoom, tiny viewfinder.(sometimes it takes a second to get your eye propery aligned)
I now have a months worth of euro-photos(about 250 pictures)to remind me of my great trip and not one turned out unacceptable.

I can handhold a 500 or 1000 mm lens without the picture getting blurred as is likely with a slower film. I have read that T-Max 3200 can be pushed to EI 50 000. One police photographer has rated it at EI 100 000 and got a usable picture of a drug deal at night from a helicopter. I have attempted EI 1 000 000 unsuccessfully, but that is far beyond even the most extreme film speed that is needed. This is an excellent film when great speed is necessary.

I really like this film. It is the fastest 35mm B&W film on the market at the moment (tied with Ilford's Delta 3200). I just like it.
Some characteristics. It's fast, and I do mean really fast. I took some hand-held, no flash shots out of the front of a moving PATH (a subway line connecting Jersey City, NJ with New York City) train pulling into a station. I was able to get shutter speeds in the range of 1/15 at F3.5, despite the lousy light. This film has loads of grain. I think that adds that old "film noir" character to the pictures, but some people might not like that.
The film can be pushed as far as 6400, it is claimed, but I have yet to try this. A side effect of all of this pushability is that the film has alot of exposure latitude. You can over/under expose the film (witness my PATH train shots!) without doing too much evil. There's already so much grain, who will notice a little more?
The appeal of this film is quite subjective. If like to take existing light pictures in public places where a tripod would be inconvenient, and you don't mind/like grainy pictures, go for it!

I hate this film. Yes, the grain is fine, but Kodak Tri-X grain just looks better to my eyes. Either film is fine for 8x10" prints, but the grain gets a little large if you blow it up more than that. T-Max is definately easier to find at places like Wal-Mart, but do yourself a favor and find some Tri-X.

Kodak T-MAX 400 black and white film is a versatile, fine grain high speed black and white film still widely used by professional and amateur photographers. Although there are other films in its speed and price range that may be better, most notably the new Ilford Delta 400, T-MAX 400 still holds its own because of its fine grain and rich contrast. I will occasionally use it, and am still quite impressed by the fine negatives it produces, especially when it is developed in T-MAX developer. If one wishes to buy a high speed black and white Kodak film, and is not interested in pushing it to ISO 800 or higher, then T-MAX 400 should be your first choice.

Many peope who write these film reviews are high school students who think they know everything from what they learned in a class or two. This film is perfect for what it is. It's not made for the professional photographer. If your going to shoot from an old point and shoot camera then this is perfect. If you just want to play around with black and white then there is no better. If you think that you want to go pro, then get professional kodak film(which at some places don't cost too much more). Pro film will have more grays and greater contrast blah blah blah, but with that kind of thinking, go ahead and buy medium or large format. Otherwise, take it for what it is.

This film is great. It is good for many situations and is very flexible. You can pretty much be safe with 400 speed film. It is an average film that will allow for low/bright light subject matter. It is good for outdoors. Good travel film, since you don't always know what the weather will be like. Have fun!

This is a decent and relatively flexible fast b&w with horrible tonal range. There is not enough detail in highlights or shadows with this film as compared to Ilford and other company's offerings. It is all around just not very impressive. Yes, it is true that it is can be pushed, pulled and do the hokey pokey, but whatever you use it for, the negatives produced are flat and without the kind of range that other 400 speed 35mm b&w films are capable of. It is also not the most flexible film in its category. While some companies are continually improving their film and paper products, Kodak is apparently content to offer the same poor quality film they've been offering for at least 10 years now.

I have used this film in a B & W photo class. I really like it because you can expose it as ISO 200 and it gives you a well-exposed negative in daylight. With reciprocity correction (needing to over-expose when indicated exposure falls higher than 1 second) it also gives excellent night time pictures. Best of all as a B & W film it is pretty uniform in its response to different colors of light. It is quite fine-grained and it is easy to make a crisp eight by ten enlargement without getting grainy.

I am a professional fine art photographer and almost exclusivly use kodak film. I have found that TMax film is the best you can get for a slightly more grainy, mystical art look. On the other hand the Plus-X seems to give a finer grained sharper image. Either way you decide to go, both films are great. For best results develop this film on your own in a darkroom, or have a lab process it on black and white paper. Because this is true black and white film, not C-41 process, it cannot be developed with color film or printed on color paper. The negatives are thicker, giving you a much wider range of tones and greater contrast. The blacks are black and the whites are white.
I highly recommend this great film if you are looking into fine are photography. It is also great when using a soft focus effect.

As a professional photographer for 20 yrs., I can honestly say I have had alot of experience with this film....This is what I buy when quality really counts!..Its high contrast extremely valuable when necessary for publication...would definitely recommend.